Firewall puts security up for rent

Managed security vendor, Network Box, and its distribution partner, Firewall Systems, have claimed an Australian-first with the launch of three unified threat management (UTM) channel bundles with monthly billing.

The offerings are designed for businesses of all sizes and incorporate a selection of Network Box UTM hardware appliances and services. These are bundled with managed services from Firewall including everything from configuration, testing and deployment through to ongoing upgrades and support.

All will be available to end-users via its channel partners for a monthly fee, with equipment provided under a three-year leasing package.

Firewall Systems marketing director, Nick Verykios, said the hardest part of a security sell for dealers was the issue of ageing equipment. The new bundles removed capital expenditure concerns by allowing customers to finance security needs.

"The focus of legacy has moved from mainframe to the products you sold the customer last year," he said. "The new bundles are based on the premise of outsourcing physical security."

Although customer could already access security monitoring and other specific services from telcos, Verykios insisted the new Network Box offerings were the first comprehensive security package to be available to the channel. The small business platform was designed for organisations with up to 50 users.

The basic package costs $677/month, or $13.54 per user/month. The medium business offering catered for up to 500 users and cost $1149/month, or $2.30 per user/month. At the top end, businesses with up to 1500 users could access a product bundle for $1874/month, or $1.25 per user/month.

Verykios said finance would continue to be available for customers needing to upgrade or increase the amount of products and services included under their leasing agreement.

Leasing options could also be extended to products the distributor carried for other vendors, he said. The channel would accrue revenues by continuing to perform initial network requirement analysis, and would receive financing upfront from the leasing company.

Resellers would also earn monthly revenues for reporting and support services.

Network Box director, Andrew Tune, said the nature of security meant it kept extending and was adaptive.

"In an event where a customer expands suddenly or needs bigger equipment, they can upgrade their hardware under the lease," he said.

Leasing would keep channel partners in front of customers every month, Tune said. It also enabled them to lock out competition for three years.

The bundles would be available to partners participating in Network Box's OutManage channel program.

Tune said the vendor had signed 31 partners since the launch of the program in September.

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